News and views about the implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 and other legislation, schemes and policies impacting the Right to Education of India's Children.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

HC notice to Centre, KVS on PIL for free education under RTE

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to make its stand clear on aPILseeking a direction to Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan for its "failure" to provide totally free education to students of Class I-VIII under the Right to Education Act.

Issuing notice to the Ministry of Human Resource Development and also to the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), a bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice Jayant Nath sought response by May 15.

The bench in its order said "explain by way of an affidavit the steps taken to comply with the provision of theRTEAct..."

The court order came after KVS's counsel, who accepted notice in the court, submitted that after the enforcement of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, no tuition fee has been collected from students but on account of computer classes and other things, a minimal amount was charged from them.

The bench was hearing a PIL filed by Social Jurists, an NGO, through counsel Ashok Agarwal, alleging that all the Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) all over the country including Delhi have been charging fee under various heads from the students of Classes I to VIII.

According to the petitioner KVS "failed" to provide totally free education to students studying in Class I to Class VIII in all Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) run by them as required in terms of Articles 21 and 21-A of the Constitution of India read with Section 3 of the RTE Act.

The petitioner's counsel contended that action on the part of the respondents (Centre and KVs) to charge any kind of fee from students of Class I to VIII studying in various Kendriya Vidyalayas is "arbitrary, unconstitutional, illegal, unjust, anti-child and also against the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution."